Rotary-pump bearing



Fiied kApril 1e. 1923 Patented Apr. 23,- i924.

Utrilla@ neuneu-runt? esserne.

Application lecl April 15, 1923. Serial Sili To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that we, MAHLoN E. Lerne, a citizen of the United States, residing at Houston, in the county of Harris and State of Texas, and SAMUEL N. HALL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Southlasadena, in the county of Los Angeles and State f California, have invented a new and useful Rotary-Pump Bearing, or" which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to hearings for rotary pumps and particularly refers to been ings for rotary pumps of the type employed in deepjwater Wells and the like.

An object of this invention is to provide e be'aiinv for a rotary pump with means to reduce'tlie fluid pressuretending to :iorcev the fluid along the wearing surface of the hearing to theeiidthat the destruction -o suoli hearings and the actuating shaft of v` the pump by the fluid, and its accompany- 'y ing oreignunatter, ina be eliininated,and

to the end the efficiency and life of the pump may loe materially increased.

ln practically all cases the fluid being pumped from the Well carries with it a oei tain amount of foreign matter suoli assand, which7 if permitted to circulate along 'the wearing surface of the pump bearings, rap` idly Wears and destroys the bearings and actuating shaft. The fluid also frequently contains a quantity of acid Which if circulated along the Wearing surface ol the hear# ings will corredo the hearings and actuating shait. Since the bearings are commonly positioned a considerable distance Delonl the surface olf the ground, the hearings cannot be inspected, removed and renewed With-7 out withdrawingr and reinstalling; the pump withtcorresnondingly large expense 'and lo@ of time. large number of deep Well pumps are used in irrigaticnwork, Where the pumps are relied upon to irrigate vari ous crops. The Wearing or corrosion of one of thepump bearings may cut o1 the supply of Water from the well at e. critical time ,p

and result in great loss to the owner ofthe Well. v i

This invention comprehends that if the Huid pressure on both ends' of the hearings is maintained equal, the circulation through the hearings will be eliminated and thereby the destruction of the hearin s and actuating shaft prevented. ,k Norma y one end of .Figa 2;

causes the circulation of fluid therethrough..

lf there is provided av small bypass having slightly less resistance to the circulation oi fluid therethrough than the resistance of 4the Wearing* surface of'the bearing, receiving the fluid otherwise tending to pass througo the bearing and conducting the saine to the fluid passage adjacent the end of the hear ing subjected to lower pressure, suela nypass will serve as a pressure equelizingj means to equalize the pressure at both ends 0f the hearing.

The invention further eompreliends. 'that if the end of the bearing adjacent the fluid passage Whereat the duid has the highest operating pressure, is incloscd in a tubular member from direct contact with tlieluid inY through the bearing and will cofoperate with the pressure equalizing lray-pase :for thet'pur ose.

The ov jects and advantages or? this inven# tion will he understood from the description o the acconipanyingn drawings which illustrateone example of a-rotary pump niechaL nism embodying the invention.

4lin the drawings, A

Figure 1 is an elevation of a pump mechanism embodyingthe invention showing a Well-in longitudinal section.

Fig. 2 is a section ,on the line Fig. l. Fig'. 3 isy a section on the line 3MB o:

"- Referring to the drawings, the pum proper is generally indicated by '2. 3 indicates the inlet pipe .leading to the pump,

which terminates in 'the Water hearing strata of the well in a perforated section Ll. The upper end ofthe pump is connected to a Water discharge casing 5 preferably huilt,v

in sections, which casing 5 supports the ump from a suitable frame 6 positioned at the'top of the well. 7 indicates a lateral discharge casing communicatin' with the casing 5. The actuating shaft oA the pump extends from the pump tlirou h the die# charge casing 5 and is connecte at the to of the well to a suitable driving means, suc as an electric motor, generally indicated hy a housiiiu,l 7S.' f

gli

The invention is not dependent on the mechanism for operating the pump, but resides in the pump 2 proper, and particu` larly in the bearings for the same. The pump 2 includesa pump casing 9 which 'preferably includes a plurality of unit pump casings or housings 10, each of which enclose an impeller 11, keyed to the common actuating'shaft 12;. An annular fluid passage 13 is provided throughout the pump, which passage is contorted todeliver the fluid to the center of each impeller housin 10 at the lower or inlet end 14 thereof an to receive the fluid from the periphery of the impeller at the discharge'end 15 thereof. The impeller housings 10 are held .together by suitable means such as bolts 26.

, The actuating shaft 12 is provided with a bearing 16 which extends between two of the impellers 11 and is supported by the interior of the pump casing 10. Said bearing preferably provides two offset portions, the lower portion 17 being of larger exterior diameter than the upper portion 18. Said bearing 16 fits in a recess 16a in the pump casing 10, the lower end 17L of said yrecess engaging the bearing andthe bore of the upper portion 18 being spaced from the upper portion 18 of the bearing. A tubular memberV 19, preferably having an integral connection with the impeller 11` disposed above said bearing, extends betweer the upper portion 18a of the recess 16 and the upper portion 18 of the' bearing 16. Said tubular member 19 serves to enclose the upper end of the bearin 16 from direct communication with thaf uid passage 13. Said tubular member what loosely engages the bearing to guide or center the impeller 11 and to retard the flow ofluid to the end of the bearing 16, and said tubular member 19 is of slightly less diameter than the bore of portion 18a of the recess 16, so. that no material wearin of said member 19 against the pump casing. occurs during operation of the pump. The lower portion 17 of the bearing 16 is provided at its periphery with a plurality of vertically extending recesses 24 which form by-passes for the fluid and which communicate with horizontal ducts 21 provided in the casing 10. Said ducts 21 in turn communicate through the cored interior 2243i the casing 10 'with vertically extending ducts 23 communicating with the fluid passage 13 near the center of the pump. Since the fluid which may pass down between the pump casing 10 and the tubular member 19 freely communicates with the passage 13 at a oint of lower operating pressure, the ten ency of the fluidi to rise between the tubular member 19 and exterior of the bearing 16 andhence to flow down along the wearing surfaces, is substantiall eliminated, and the life of the pump accord ingly increased.

10 of the pum is illustratedv asprovided with a bearing aving the -pressure relieving by-pass. If preferred, however, each of the housings 10 may be provided with bearings having means relieving the pressure tending to force fluid therethrough. As shown, each of the upper and lower housings 1() are provided with plain bushings 25 a ong the actuating shaft 12. Preferably such bushings 25 should be relatively loose around the actuating shaft 12 to prevent wear in operation. The main support ofthe actuating shaft is by the bearing 16. The impellers v11 should fit closely to the shaft 'to prevent circulation of fluid between their inner surfaces and the surface of the actuating shaft 12.,

While the pump bearing heretofore deribed is a ractical example of one em bodiment `of'ftlie invention, various modifications in the details of construction' of the pump may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. This invention is not limited to the embodiment shown, but is of theV scope set forth in the following claims.

We claim: A

v1. In a centrifugal pump, the combination of a' pump casing, a retable shaft mounted therein and provided with an imsov eller, a bearing for the shaft adjacent the 1mpeller, and means for reducing the fluid pressure on the -one end of theibearing to substantially the pressure on the other end,

whereby' circulation of fluid along' the wearf impeller and providin a fluld passage-way adapted to deliver ui to'said impeller and receive the fluid therefrom, of a bearing for the shaft, and a pressure, relieving by-pass communicating with said passage-way at the point of higherpressure on said bearing and communicating with the fluid passage-way at a point -of relatively lower pressure.

3. 4In a centrifugal pum a pump casing, a rotatable shaft mounte therein, an impeller carried by the shaft, a bearing for the shaft within the pump casing, a tubularl l member enclosing one end of the bearing, and pressure releasing means cooperating with the tubular member to prevent circulation of fluid through said bearing.

4.-. In a centrifugal pump, a rotary shaft, a bearing for the shaft, al tubular member enclosing one end of the bearing from direct contact with the fluid in the pump, and a' pressure relieving by-pass co-operating with said tubular member to prevent circulation of fluid through said bearing.

- 5. n a rotary pump,l the combination ldisposed between adjacent impellers, andA pump casing and a portion spaced froml ,-irithl a pump housing having a Water pas- `=2ei`of a plurality of impellers enclosed within the casing for stepping up the 'pressureof vater in the passage, a shaft mount- "ng the inipellers, a bearing for the shaft .means for reducing the pressure` tending to force fluid along the wearing surface of the bearing to the low pressure end of the bearing,

6. In a rotary pump, a pump easing providing a fluid passage, an mpeller enclosed in said cusing, an actuating shaft for the impeller, a bearing for the actuating shaft, said bearing being positioned adjacent said impeller and having its upper end enclosed by a 'tubular extension of said impeller, and a by-pass from the end of the tubular member and conimunicatingwith the passage adjacent the other end of the bearing.

7. )in n rotary pump, ,a pump casing hirving a Huid passageway, an impeller enclosed in the casing, an actuating shaft for the impeller, a bearing 4lor the shaft, said hearing having a portion engaging the said pump casing, e tubular extension on the` impeller enclosing one portion of said bearing and substantiall filling the space between said portion an the pump casing, and a byfpass co-operating with said tubular member to reduce the pressure on the bearing.

8. In :i rotary pump, a pump easingjr providing a fluid passage, a plurality of impellers'in the casing, an actuating shaft for the impellers, a be'arinpr for the shaft, seid bearing being ydisposed between adjacent impellers, andra pressure relieving byjpass adapted to substantially equalize the pres sures at opposed ends of the bearing.

9. In a rotary pump, a shainoa plurality of impellers carried by its shTi/it. a pump casing providing a fluid passuge to und from. said impellers, a bearing,r 'for the shaft and disposed between adjacent impellers, e, tubular extension from an impeller enclosing' one end of the bearing, and means for reducing the pressure of one end of the bearing to substantially the pressure at the vopposed end.

Signed at Los Angeles, Cal., this 9th day of Apru, 1923.

MAHLGN E. LAYNE. SAMUEL N. HALL. 

